As up to 40 prisoners in Dubai Central Jail for bouncing cheques are thought to be taking part in a hunger strike to push for reform of the country’s insolvency laws, a Dubai-based bank has launched a drive to get the UAE’s spendthrift residents into the alien habit of saving money.

In a campaign that strangely reminds me of Ikea’s effort to get us to “chuck out the chintz”, Emirates NBD is encouraging customers to “cut the coffee”in an attempt to reduce their personal expenses so they can start saving. A daily latte habit, for example, could be preventing you from saving upwards of AED 3,600 (£600) a year. Other money-saving ideas proposed by the bank include turning off the lights, keeping the air-conditioning above 25˚C, using group-buying websites and shopping for bargains in the sales (or presumably in Poundstretcher, when it opens).